The present invention relates generally to molds used for continuous casting of molten metal and, more particularly, to an improved side wall member for an adjustable width continuous casting mold. Molds of the type heretofore used in the continuous casting of molten metal slabs are described and illustrated in numerous prior art patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,964,727 of June 22, 1976, and 4,124,058 of Nov. 7, 1978. Typically, continuous casting molds comprise a pair of opposed, spaced apart side walls which are adjustably clamped between opposed, spaced apart front and rear walls. The four walls are configured as a box-like container or frame having open upper and lower ends to form a casting cavity interiorly of the walls. Molten metal is poured into the open upper end of the mold and is partially cooled within the cavity as the metal flows downwardly through the cavity under the influence of gravity so as to form a solidified skin surrounding an interior core of molten metal. This skin and core together form a continuous elongated extrusion-like slab which emerges from the open lower end of the mold and is thereafter cooled to form a solid slab.
As described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,727, the mold side walls (often referred to as side wall members) are supported upon mounting blocks so that they may be adjusted inwardly toward each other or outwardly away from each other by adjusting longitudinal movement of support shafts carried by the blocks. The mounting blocks also are provided with bolts to support the blocks to the front and rear walls of the mold, and plungers or separators to separate the mold walls against a spring pressure to thus loosen the side wall members for adjustment when desired. During adjustment of the widths of the conventional molds as described above, where the front and rear walls of the mold are held sufficiently apart to unclamp the side wall members so that the side wall members may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly to change the width of the metal slab, it has been found that the movement of the side wall members sometimes resulted in tilting or twisting of the side wall members out of vertical aligmment relative to the mold cavity. Furthermore, the movement of the side wall members often resulted, prior to the present invention, in scratching and wearing of the interior mold wall surfaces which was caused by face-to-face contact between the moving side wall plate members and the front and rear mold walls. This scratching and wearing often caused irregularities on the surface of the metal slab. In addition, the scratching and wearing of the interior mold wall surfaces often produced gaps or spaced between the edges of the side wall members and the adjacent front or rear wall members. These gaps or spaces could result in the formation of flash along one or more corners of the slab. The scratches and the flash also caused the slab to resist smooth movement through the mold cavity and thus resulted in tearing, breaking or the formation of weak spots in the fragile, thin slab skin allowing the molten metal core to break out.
In addition, the scratching and wearing of the mold wall interior surfaces requires more frequent replacement of the mold wall surfaces resulting in greater downtime, i.e., time during which production must be halted so that the mold wall surfaces may be replaced.
Thus the invention herein relates to an improved side wall member for an adjustable width continuous casting mold which solves the foregoing problems.